


Archangels' sitters

by azure_lemon



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bonding, Brotherly Love, De-Aged Lucifer (Supernatural), De-Aged Michael, Dean Winchester is Good With Children, Domestic Fluff, Gen, Kid Fic, Kid Lucifer (Supernatural), Kid Michael (Supernatural)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-17
Updated: 2020-07-02
Packaged: 2021-03-03 18:37:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,732
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24770155
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/azure_lemon/pseuds/azure_lemon
Summary: Sam and Dean find a child wandering alone in close proximity to the bunker. They can’t help but adopt him. Kid is lovely, wide-eyed and blond. This is heaven until Chuck visits and tells boys who is the kid really is.
Relationships: Dean Winchester & Sam Winchester, Lucifer & Dean Winchester, Lucifer & Sam Winchester, Michael & Adam Milligan
Comments: 2
Kudos: 49





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> It's set in season 8, after Winchesters moved into the bunker. There may be some canon divergences, since it focuses mostly on Sam-Daean-little Luci relationship and is intended to be rather fluffy. Enjoy.

It was late afternoon, Lebanon, Kansas and Sam and Dean Winchester were driving in silence. Simple salt and burn turned to be way more complicated than they expected and the felt rather tired. Thankfully, after all these years they had a place to call home and joy of homecoming made it all better. Castiel was temporarily out, but it didn’t bother neither Sam nor Dean. It was rather nice to spend a few days on an ordinary hunt, like old days. Who would have guessed there would be the time they looked fondly back on those times, before angels, demons and another high level supernatural lurking in the dark. Well, there were almost back to the Bunker. However, there was one more disturbing thing awaiting them. In close proximity to home, in the field, was a child wandering alone, blond and rather cute, no parent or caregiver in the eyesight. The boy couldn’t have been older than six years old. This vision struck chord with Dean’s brotherly feeling.  
‘’Look, Sammy’’ he exclaimed. ‘’This boy is here without any adult to take care of him. We should check on him.’’  
Younger Winchester yawned.  
‘’C’mon, Dean, I’m sure he lives here nearby. I’m not sure if we should talk to him.’’  
‘’Why?’’ asked genuinely surprised Dean.  
‘’Seriously, Dean? Two grown men, with criminal record, approaching the child? Do you want more trouble?’’ answered Sam, wincing.  
‘’Sammy, I think you’re overreacting’’, said his brother dismissively.  
‘’Anyway, I’m sure kid is safe. Does he look troubled?’’  
‘’No,’’ admitted Dean. ‘’But Sammy, perhaps we should make sure…’’  
‘’It’s Sam,’’ said brunette a bit harsher than he intended. ‘’Listen, Dean, I know you get all protective over kids, I get it man, but please, don’t try to find problem where everything is fine.’’  
‘’Maybe you’re right.’’ the older hunter finally admitted. Maybe he really was overreacting. Couldn’t help it, not with his own experiences. He just had a soft spot for kids.  
‘’You and your big heart,’’ sighed Sam, hoping he convinced his brother. Anyway, kid was already gone.  
Few weeks later, when brothers were coming back from another hunt, Dean suddenly exclaimed:  
‘’Sam, look. It’s the same boy. You’re not sweet talking me into leaving him this time. I need to make sure everything is fine. It seems that whoever is responsible for taking care of him makes rather shitty job.’’  
‘’Dean, our dad left us unsupervised for weeks.’’  
‘’Yeah, and I think we have already agreed he wasn’t an epitome of good parenting. Anyway, you had me looking out for you.’’  
‘’Fine, Dean, if it makes you feel better, go talk to the boy,’’ surrendered Sam.  
Dean got out of car. Sam followed him, resigned. Said child look at them without fear, but with curiosity in his big eyes.  
‘’Hi, kiddo,’’ said Dean and crouched so that he could be on the same level with the boy. ‘’My name is Dean, this big guy is my baby brother, Sam. We were just wondering what are you doing here all alone?’’  
The boy said nothing.  
‘’Where are your parents, kid?’’ tried Dean one more time.  
‘’Parents?’’ asked the boy. ‘’I don’t have parents.’’  
‘’Everybody have parents, love’’ answered Dean, smiling reassuringly at the child. ‘’Do you mean your parents are gone or something?’’  
Boy shook his head.  
‘’I have no parents,’’ he repeated.  
‘’Who do you live with?’’ asked Sam, feeling growing concern. Perhaps Dean was right. There might be something wrong.  
‘’I live alone’’ replied child, completely impassive.  
‘’Okay, where do you live?’’ tried Sam.  
Kid shrugged his shoulders.  
‘’Nowhere.’’  
Dean tried not to gasp in irritation.  
‘’Your caregivers must be missing you. Don’t you want to go home?’’ he asked, hoping something will become clearer.  
‘’You guys are funny. I’ve told you I have no home.’’  
‘’Do you want to have one?’’ asked suddenly Dean. Sam looked at him, puzzled.  
‘’Dean, what are you doing? He inquired, baffled. Surely his brother didn’t thought about…  
‘’Sammy, we can’t leave him like that. We should take him to the bunker,’’ said older Winchester as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.  
‘’Dean,’’ sighed exasperated Sam. ‘’I know we can’t leave him like that. We should take him to authorities. We can’t take care of a child, we can be accused of kidnapping for one thing…’’  
‘’When did you become so law abiding?’’ asked Dean, eyebrows raised.  
The boy remained silent, completely indifferent to this discussion as if it wasn’t concerning him in a slightest amount.  
‘’I know, Dean, we do a lot of thing that require bending the rules, breaking the rules,’’ continued Sam, noticing his brother rolled his eyes at this statement. ‘’My point is, we do it to help people. Here are better ways to help this kid. Look, bunker isn’t exactly child- friendly, is it? And we are not really qualified to take care of child.’’  
‘’Say that for yourself, I’ve practically raised you single handed,’’ pointed out Dean.  
‘’All in all, there are better solutions. I want to help this boy, I truly do, but this way we can do more harm than good.’’  
‘’I admire your faith in authorities, but I don’t share it’’ responded Dean glumly. ‘’What is your name, sunshine?’’ he asked, turning back to the boy.  
‘’Not sure’’ shrugged the child. ‘’But Nick seems fine.’’  
‘’Nice to meet you, Nicky’’ answered hunter, smiling gently. ‘’Tell me, kiddo, how old are you?’’  
‘’I don’t know, Mr Dean’’ replied Nick.  
‘’Please call me and Sam by our first names, no need for this Mr crap. Mr Winchester was my father, anyway,’’ explained Dean, leaning over and patting boy’s back.  
Kid beamed with happiness, involuntarily winning Sam’s heart over.  
‘’Okay, little one, do you want to stay with us for time being? Until we have things sorted out?’’ asked younger hunter.  
Dean looked at his brother with pride.  
‘’I knew you are at least decent, Sammy. You’re my brother, after all.’’  
‘’Oh, shut up, Dean-o,’’ growled brunette.  
‘’So, Nick, let’s get into Impala. Don’t you worry, we’re almost home. Just need to park our Baby first.’’ Explained Dean.  
Boy stretched his arms, as indicating for the hunter to carry him, what he promptly did.  
‘’Light as feather,’’ mused Dean and Sam couldn’t help, but smile.  
Dean sat Nick on the backseat of Baby and asked proudly:  
‘’Isn’t she a beauty?’’  
‘’Why should it be?’’ muttered kid. Sam giggled, eyeing brother’s offended face.  
‘’Well said, Nicky,’’ he praised the boy, who immediately smiled at him broadly, making Sam’s heart melt.  
They arrived Bunker in no time. Nick looked at his new home in awe in his eyes.  
‘’Just be careful, sweetheart, there are many dangerous items in here,’’ admonished older Winchester gently.  
Kid nodded, but didn’t seem to take much care to these words.  
‘’We should test him’’ mouthed Sam to Dean. ‘’We should have done it sooner.’’  
‘’I’ve touched him already with silver. Not even a slightest reaction,’’ said Dean.  
‘’A Leviathan?’’  
‘’They’re gone, remember?’’  
‘’Can’t be too careful.’’  
For a following ten minutes brothers tested Nick, disguising it as a play. The boy didn’t mind, rather the contrary. He squealed happily every time, apparently happy with any form of being taken care, even Winchester style.  
‘’Okay’’ exclaimed Dean. ‘’Who wants something to eat? I’m starving? What do you want, Nick?’’  
‘’I’m afraid we don’t have much to eat’’ interrupted Sam as a voice of reason. ‘’You see, we’ve been away a few days and didn’t have time to make shopping.’’  
‘’It’s all right’’ answered the child with understanding beyond age in his bright eyes. ‘’I’m not picky. I mean I like to eat. I haven’t eaten in long time.’’  
Dean felt his blood boil. Whoever was responsible for starving the child, they’ll pay for it. If Nick was neglected or abused, the hunter will personally deal with the culprit.  
‘’Poor thing’’ he said, with badly- concealed anger.  
‘’No, it’s fine’’ explained the boy promptly. ‘’I don’t need to eat. But I like it.’’  
‘’Kiddo, everybody needs to eat,’’ tried the older blond, but Nick just resorted to munching on sandwiches.  
‘’Let it go, Dean,’’ muttered Sam. ‘’For now. We’ll figure it out. All in good time.’’  
After the meal, Dean took care of Nick, trying his best to make the boy feel welcome and Sam resorted to research. Kid got sleepy soon and without much protests he let Dean help with a bath and even went to bed without much protests in exchange for a bedtime story. Apparently, older hunter missed having a kid to take care of more than he ever wanted to admit.  
Sam carefully opened the door to Nick’s temporary bedroom only to witness kid already in the bed and Dean sitting on the chair, smiling softly.  
‘’Is he?’’ whispered brunette, trying not to disturb.  
Dean run his hand through child’s soft hair gently.  
‘’Yeah, he’s asleep’’.  
‘’That’s great, Dean, because we need to talk. There is something very odd about this case.’’  
‘’It’s not a case, Sammy,’’ said Dean, walking out of the room and closing the door as quietly as he could.  
‘’Sam,’’ corrected the younger brother. ‘’Anyway, I tried to find something about missing boy named Nick. Nothing turned up.’’  
‘’Maybe he isn’t missing?’’ suggested Dean.  
‘’Maybe. All this he was saying doesn’t make sense’’  
‘’It looks like he just turned up from nowhere.’’  
‘’But we’ve checked it already. He passed the sigils, anyway.’’  
‘’You’re probably right, just plain, human kid. Crap, what this job does to a guy. We end up looking for supernatural everywhere.’’  
‘’It looks like he’s our responsibility now. I’ll keep looking if there was a kid matching description missing. Hell, he just followed us. Does a kid with stable loving home just goes living with two complete strangers?’’  
‘’I’m starting to have doubts if we should even look for his parents. They don’t seem to be very devoted.’’  
‘’Dean, I know what you think, but he can’t stay. Not in a long run.’’  
‘’I know, I know. But right now we should go shopping with him. We have to get him some clothes, some toys, other things, I don’t know…’’  
‘’I’ll make a list’’ offered younger Winchester.  
‘’Great. Do you think Nick is his real name?’’ mused Dean.  
‘’Dunno. Maybe he’ll open up more in future.’’  
‘’I hope so. I mean, Dean, so far nothing about Nick makes sense. His parents are God-knows-where, but he doesn’t look neglected.’’  
‘’We should contact Cas.’’  
‘’Probably. I don’t know if he would even care about some kid. You’ve noticed, he’s been a bit off, recently?’’  
‘’Let’s try to figure it out on our own.’’  
‘’Good idea,’’ yawned Dean. ‘’Goodnight, Sammy. It’s been a long day.’’  
‘’It’s Sam.’’  
‘’Yeah, whatever.’’


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the subscriptions, kudos and bookmark. Today more fluff ensures. Michael and Adam will show sooner or later (rather sooner :) )

Heaven and Hell were relatively calm recently, which allowed Sam to spend quite a lot of time trying to figure out what was going on with Nick. As time passed, he started to lose heart for doing more research. Whatever happened to Nick in the past, the boy was settling in nicely with Winchesters, adapting without bigger problems and even a mere thought about letting him go was heart-breaking. They had lost enough people during all these years and couldn’t bear it if Nick’s family was found or the boy being transferred into the foster care. Sam knew the system well enough not to have much faith in it.  
Despite his unclear background, Nick was rather well behaved and impressively eloquent, which made it even easier to take care of him. Except of that, he was mostly behaving like a regular child this age. He enjoyed playing with toys, especially stuffed ones and loved every single bit of affection brothers showed him. It was almost unbelievable how easy it turned out for Nick to become part of Winchester household. It was a strange feeling, to have a huge building filled with child’s laughter. Castiel was still out of the picture and Kevin was busy in his safehouse, so it was just three of them. Sam should have known every good thing in his life comes to an end sooner or later, but this domestic bliss was so seductive, that he allowed himself to be happy. For the first time in his life, he finally had a place to call home.  
‘’You know, Dean,’’ he once said when Nick was already asleep, exhausted after a trip to the zoo. ‘’I have a strange feeling like I’ve already met him before.’’  
Dean just shrugged.  
‘’This whole thing is strange and it makes you suspicious. ‘’  
‘’You’re probably right,’’ sighed younger hunter. ‘’Look, Dean, this has come too far. I haven’t found anything useful about who exactly is Nick, but it doesn’t matter anymore, does it? I’m done researching. We both know we’re not giving up on him. He’s a Winchester now.’’  
‘’Well said, Sam,’’ agreed Dean. ‘’But why do you look like you want to tell me something more?’’  
‘’Dean, I’ll be straight on this. It’s either Nick or hunting. We already established we chose Nick. This lifestyle, Dean…You know how it works.’’  
There was a pregnant pause after this words, before Dean took a swing of beer and slowly nodded.  
‘’Maybe it’s universe way of telling us it’s time to retire. Don’t you think we deserve it, Sammy?’’  
‘’It’s Sam…Oh, never mind. You took it surprisingly well.’’  
‘’The facts are facts. What you said makes sense. We should quit hunting, at least until Nick is older. I’ll look round if there are any job ads for mechanic. Do you think it is even possible for us to take over a new leaf?’’  
‘’Worth a shot. So, let’s drink for a new beginning,’’ Sam raised his beer, but immediately put it down when dishevelled and half-awake kid walked unsteadily into the kitchen, rubbing his eyes with tiny fists.  
‘’What’s going on, sunshine?’’ asked gently Dean, extending his arms to hug Nick, who gladly positioned himself on his lap.  
‘’Bad dream,’’ muttered kid, hugging the hunter. ‘’I was falling.’’  
‘’Poor thing,’’ tried to console him Sam, while Dean rubbed his back. ‘’You know it wasn’t real, do you?’’  
‘’It felt awfully real,’’ said Nick miserably. ’’I was really scared and I woke up and it was dark and you weren’t with me.’’  
‘’You’re safe with us,’’ promised Dean. ‘’I swear Sam and I will protect you forever, no matter what happens. Now, it’s late, Nicky, let’s go back to bed.’’  
Boy nodded automatically, already falling asleep again in safety of Dean’s arms.  
‘’It’s worth it,’’ mouthed older soon-to-be-ex-hunter, glancing pointedly at his brother, and carried child back to bed, where he tucked Nick and kissed him goodnight. Dean knew he didn’t exactly succeed with Ben, but maybe Nick was his second chance. Ben had Lisa and it looked like Nick doesn’t have anyone in the world to care for him. Despite his job, Dean had a lot of gentleness to offer and kid was happy to be on the receiving end of it, so it seemed to be a perfect deal.  
In the next morning, Sam came back to the subject.  
‘’I’ve been thinking a lot about all this and I might have a plan,’’ he announced seriously.  
‘’Shoot,’’ mumbled Dean, nearly choking on his breakfast.  
‘’If we want to make it legal, we need to register Nick,’’ started Sam. ‘’As legal guardians.’’  
‘’So, it’s Nick Winchester, now?’’ asked older hunter.  
‘’More like Nicolas or maybe Dominic?’’ suggested Sam. ‘’How does it sounds, Nick?’’ he asked a child, who was playing next to them on the carpet with cars, one of which suspiciously resembled an Impala.  
‘’Just Nick is fine,’’ the boy shook his head.  
‘’Okay. Are you all right with a having a second name?’’  
‘’Yep,’’ answered kid in a heartbeat.  
‘’Robert,’’ proposed Dean. ‘’Bobby was a dear friend of ours, who unfortunately passed recently. He’d love you. He was rather gruff, but had a big heart. He would have been a greatest grandad ever, Nick. It’s such a shame he didn’t live to know you.’’  
‘’Robert sounds nice,’’ agreed the boy.  
‘’So we’ve got this settled,’’ decided Sam. ‘’Nick Robert Winchester. It’s a good name. Solid. Fitting. May it serve you right, kiddo.’’  
‘’It looks like Winchester bloodline is saved,’’ cheered older hunter.  
‘’About other things, Nick needs to meet other children, socialise with them, also we need to enrol to school and…’’trailed off Sam.  
‘’Whoa, hold your horses, Sam,’’ interrupted Dean. ‘’We’ve got time for all these.’’  
‘’No, we don’t, Dean,’’ younger man rolled his eyes. ‘’If we want good education for Nick, we need to find a good school right now. Do you have any idea how hard it is to get a place?’’  
‘’If you say so, Sammy. You’re the smart one. I’m sure Nick will take that after you. Straight A student. I mean, take it slow. Rome wasn’t built in one day. Baby steps.’’  
‘’Fine. Where shall we start?’’  
Dean glanced at Nick, who switched from cars to building blocks.  
‘’We should start from buying him a bigger set of those,’’ he suggested.  
Next days passed largely uneventful, with Winchesters having fun with Nick, making up all the same for their difficult childhood and letting Garth and other befriended hunters take care of the supernatural.  
‘’Tomorrow I’ve got a job interview. Wish me luck,’’ said Dean day one.  
‘’Good for you,’’ replied Sam. ‘’I don’t even know what to do. Funny thing, you know? When I was a kid, I was dead set on becoming a lawyer. Now, I can have a normal life and I even don’t know what I want to do for a living.’’  
‘’Maybe it’s for the best. Nick needs somebody at home.’’  
‘’For now,’’ agreed Sam. ‘’I can help other hunters by providing them with information and then, we’ll see, right? So far, if there’s a one thing we’ve learnt after all this time, not to make too many plans for the future.’’  
These words turns out to be true way too soon. Before Dean could have reacted to his brother’s words, door to the bunker opened, making both of them jump on their feet, alarmed. Despite that recent weeks had been rather calm, they had it drilled to never let their guards down. Who knows what lurks in the shadows or, what was worse, it broad daylight. However, this time it was only their old acquaintance, one they never expected to see again.  
‘’Chuck?’’ asked surprised Sam.  
‘’Chuck is dead,’’ reminded him his brother. ‘’He must be, since Kevin is the Prophet now. Whatever this is, it’s not Chuck. Quit this, shapeshifter, revenant or whoever you are.’’  
‘’This is only half-true,’’ said the guest. ‘’I’m Chuck, the Chuck you knew, I’m perfectly alive, as you see, I’ve never been a Prophet in the first place, not in the literal meaning of this word anyway and I suggest we sit down and talk a bit. I owe you a few words of explanation. But first, I thank you for taking such a great care of my son. You really made him happy, I can feel it. Happier than I ever managed to. Congratulations, you two.’’  
‘’Nick is your son?’’ inquired Dean. In some strange way, it might have even have sense. Nothing was ordinary about man they knew as the Prophet, so it would maybe explain some things about Nick, starting with loops in boy’s memory.  
‘’Yeah,’’ nodded Chuck. ‘’Well, except his name isn’t Nick. Test me all you want and after that let me tell you everything.’’


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chuck in this story isn't a villain, but not the greatest man either. I know we already had this Chuck tells Winchesters who he is scene in season eleven, but I needed to make one for this story. Sit down, because quite a lot it's going to happen.

‘’So, if you’re not a Prophet, who the hell are you?’’ asked Dean, after mandatory testing took place. ‘’And what’s going on with Nick?’’  
Three of them were sitting in the kitchen, brothers glancing at the older man slightly distrustfully.  
‘’Oh, yeah, Nick,’’ said Chuck with such a voice as if he had forgotten about why he dropped by in the first place. ’’Where is he?’’  
‘’He’s drawing in his room,’’ replied Sam.  
‘’Good, because I don’t think he should be right here before I’ll tell you everything,’’ answered Chuck.  
‘’You’d better hurry, because we’re done waiting. We want answers, quickly,’’ growled Dean. ‘’And we’re not letting him go unless you had a good reason to leave him without a word and nothing even close to that comes to my mind right now.’’  
‘’Okay, okay, I get it,’’ Chuck raised his hands defensively. ‘’I’m not a father of a year, but Nick, let’s call him that for now, was particularly difficult.’’  
‘’Nick,’’ inquired younger Winchester with raised brows. ’’Difficult? He’s the nicest kid we’ve met.’’  
‘’I’ve told you, it’s complicated,’’ winced the older man. ‘’I’m not proud of my relationship with Nick.’’  
‘’You can start with telling us who exactly you are,’’ suggested Dean.  
‘’Fine,’’ sighed Chuck. ‘’I’m God.’’  
It wouldn’t be an overstatement to say that Winchesters were shell shocked after hearing these three simple words. They just kept staring at Chuck, utter disbelief painted on their faces, unable to comprehend what was just announced so casually to them.  
‘’Oh, yeah. I knew it,’’ muttered newly-revealed- deity to himself. ’’This is why I don’t usually tell people about it,’’ he added a bit louder. ‘’I know, it’s a lot, boys. Take your time. There was no easy way to tell it. I’ve got this, you’ve got a lot of questions.’’  
Sam was the first to talk.  
‘’So, you’re telling us you are the God? Like, the God?’’ he accented the pronoun.  
‘’Yeah,’’ nodded Chuck. ‘’To cut long story short, I knew you would deal this the Apocalypse, before you ask about that. Don’t you worry, I’m still the guy you knew.’’  
‘’Well, not every day you meet a God,’’ said Dean, blinking in surprise.  
‘’I know, I know, you feel overwhelmed. It’s perfectly fine.’’  
‘’Wait, you’ve told us Nick is your son? Like, human kid?’’ remembered Sam, his head spinning.  
‘’Oh, yes,’’ answered Chuck, content that the topic witched back to the boy. ‘’Please don’t talk about me, let’s talk about Nick. No, he’s not a human. He’s an angel. An archangel, to be precise. Hang on, boys.’’  
‘’Please don’t tell me he’s…,’’ started younger hunter, paling visibly, already realizing their charge identity, silently praying his suspicions weren’t true.  
‘’Yes, he’s Lucifer,’’ confirmed Chuck. ‘’Listen, I don’t know why he is a kid, I don’t know why he isn’t in the Cage, but I know certain things and I’ll share them with you gladly.’’  
‘’Are you telling me, we’ve been living with a kid Devil for weeks?’’ inquired Dean.  
‘’This is exactly what I said.’’  
‘’How it is even possible for him to be here?’’ asked Dean, but Sam already knew the answer.  
‘’We took off some warding to let Cas in, remember?’’  
‘’Son-of-the-bitch.’’  
‘’And what about Michael?’’ asked Sam.  
‘’Oh, don’t worry about him. Who you should be interested is Lucifer here,’’ smiled Chuck delightfully.  
‘’Sorry,’’ said Dean, standing up and striding the room like a caged animal. ‘’You’re a God and Nick is Lucifer. This is too much. Why couldn’t we just stumble over, I don’t know, normal human child? Do you have something more to add? Please, don’t spare us. I doubt anything can surprise us more.’’  
‘’Dean, I understand you’re confused and angry, but let’s not dwell on why I kept my identity secret. About Nick, as you must have realized, he’s memories are, let’s call it, blurred, for now. His grace is temporarily low. This is why he actually sleeps at night. He needs time to recharge.’’  
In this very moment said archangel marched into the kitchen, utterly oblivious of the shock Winchesters have been experiencing, holding something what was probably a picture and stopping rapidly the moment he saw Chuck, who grinned at him benevolently.  
‘’Hi, Nick. Do you remember me?’’  
‘’No,’’ answered the child timidly. ‘’Shall I?’’ he added, glancing at Sam and Dean. Blond Winchester tried to smile, but it didn’t succeed.  
‘’He’s a family friend,’’ he managed to say, even if every word burnt his throat. ‘’Nick, why don’t you turn the TV on? We need a few minutes with Chuck here.’’  
‘’Okay’’ shrugged Lucifer and ran away.  
‘’Isn’t he cute?’’ beamed Chuck.  
‘’He’s Lucifer. Walking evil,’’ answered Dean, his voice completely devoid of emotions.  
‘’Right now he’s a child,’’ reminded them their guest.  
‘’Chuck, I mean, God,’’ started Sam carefully.  
‘’Chuck is fine. I prefer it, even. Please, don’t be formal with me.’’  
‘’Okay, Chuck, tell us, will Lucifer remember everything?’’  
‘’With time, yes.’’  
‘’Good we’ve finally got some facts settled and we don’t have to deal with this problem anymore. I can even help Lucifer pack,’’ offered Dean.  
‘’I have to ask you for one more favour’’, said Chuck gently. ‘’Lucifer needs to stay with you.’’  
‘’No freaking way,’’ almost yelled Dean. ‘’God, or no God, you can’t expect us to spend with this incarnation of evil a second longer.’’  
‘’Dean, you’ve already virtually adopted him. He doesn’t even know who I am and you love him.’’  
‘’I did, before I knew. Now, he should be somewhere away from me, before I strangle him with my own hands.’’  
‘’Sam?’’ Chuck shot the second brother a hopeful glance.  
‘’I’m sorry, but I agree fully with Dean. Nick…Lucifer… He just can’t stay. We mean no disrespect, but this just won’t work anymore.’’  
‘’Sam, Dean, please. I need more time to figure out why he is like this.’’  
‘’Aren’t you supposed to be omnipotent, or something?’’ wanted to know Dean.  
‘’Being primordial entity only seems to be easy. The point is, I can’t just take Lucifer with me right now.’’  
‘’You can’t or you don’t want to?’’ asked Dean seriously.  
‘’Boys, please. Just do it. Universe needs you two.’’  
‘’Why us?’’ wanted to know Sam, even if it was painfully obvious.  
‘’It won’t take long,’’ promised Chuck instead of answer.  
‘’You didn’t hurry this time,’’ reminded him older Winchester.  
‘’We’ve already established I needed to sort things out myself. I informed you as soon as possible. I thought you would like to know.’’  
‘’That we’re living under the same roof with a monster?’’ laughed bitterly Dean. ‘’Sure as hell we would.’’  
‘’Sam, it’s your vessel,’’ implored Chuck.  
The bigger man actually looked like he considered this proposal.  
‘’Swear to us. Swear this is the best solution. The only solution.’’  
‘’It is,’’ said exasperated God.  
‘’Than we’ll do it,’’ announced Sam. ‘’But try to be quick this time, because, trust me, your son won’t longer be happy with our company.’’  
‘’I’m sure you won’t mistreat him,’’ answered Chuck.  
‘’We’re not,’’ interjected Dean.  
‘’You’re Winchesters. You won’t harm a child.’’  
‘’This child is a Devil himself, Chuck,’’ scoffed Dean. ‘’Not really sunshine and rainbow anymore. I almost wish I didn’t know.’’  
‘’I can make you forget,’’ offered Chuck. ‘’It’s easy.’’  
‘’No, thanks,’’ answered Dean. ‘’But we’re doing this only for you.’’  
‘’I knew I can count on you,’’ exclaimed proudly Chuck. ‘’I will fill you in as soon as I find out something useful.’’  
‘’Providing we won’t kill each other till then,’’ muttered older hunter.  
After Chuck left, Winchesters looked at each other with resignation.  
‘’We should probably check on him…’’ suggested Sam.  
‘’Be my guest, then,’’ replied emotionlessly Dean.  
Without another word, Sam went to see how their charge was faring. Lucifer was completely preoccupied with some fast-paced cartoon and looked as normal and adorable as before they knew about his real identity. Lucifer. It was even hard to think about the boy this way when he looked like Nick and acted like Nick. Sam shook his head. There was no Nick and never had been. It was time to face the truth, no matter how he wanted just to wake up and this all to be a horrible nightmare.  
‘’It’s our fault, Dean,’’ he said after returning to kitchen. ‘’We knew there was something wrong about Nick, but we ignored it. We, seasoned hunters. What dad told us repeatedly?’’  
‘’Good hunter trusts his intuition,’’ recited Dean glumly.  
‘’Exactly. Clues were obvious, but we failed to recognise them.  
‘’Nah, Sam, it’s on me. I insisted on taking Nick in, right?’’  
‘’Your brotherly instincts kicked in. I should have thought more reasonably. What shall we do now?’’  
‘’We swore we’ll protect him, remember?’’ asked bitterly Dean.  
‘’It was before we knew’’ answered Sam in similar tone. ‘’Dean, I can’t believe it. If it was an adult Lucifer, we would have him already locked in dungeon.’’  
‘’We can’t lock him. I barely can look at him, but he’s still a kid.’’  
‘’I know, but this doesn’t make it any easier. It makes things even worse. Dean, he tortured me for fun. We lost people, our friends, good hunters, because of him. I know he’s now a mostly normal human child, but what will happen if one day he just remembers everything and murder us in our sleep? Chuck said he’s going to be back to normal. Wait, not normal, since he was never normal in the first place. His former self. Dean, this is so bizarre, even for us.’’  
‘’Sam, I’m still processing the news we played house with Devil. I should have known it when he told he’s name was Nick. We were so blind.’’  
‘’We cuddled him and took him to places. Fun places. Spoiled him with gifts. Cooked his favourite foods. I think we tried to give him a childhood we never had.’’  
‘’We’ve almost gave up hunting for him. We were ready to change our entire lives.’’  
Sam sighed and looked glumly at his fingernails.  
‘’It’s just so weird. The worst type of crazy. I just can’t make the sense with this. On the one hand, there was Lucifer, the Devil, Apocalypse, death, tortures, Cage and so on, you get the picture and on the other is, well, Nick. It’s so hard to see them…him…as one person. Archangel. Whatever.’’  
‘’I don’t get it either, Sammy. This just doesn’t click. Nick is just so wonderfully innocent and sweet and according to Chuck it’s authentic since he doesn’t remember a thing.’’  
For the first time since Chuck’s revelation Sam’s eyes shone on.  
‘’Nobody is born, in this situation, created evil.’’  
‘’Care to carry on?’’ asked Dean. ‘’You lost me there.’’  
‘’I didn’t even start, Dean. What I’m trying to say, that maybe Lucifer wasn’t evil from the beginning. Chuck just admitted he wasn’t the best father, did he? With Nick it’s practically the clean slate.’’  
‘’Sammy, are you suggesting we try to raise the Devil right? Like the resocialization?’’  
‘’You can say that. What do we have to lose?’’  
‘’When you put it that way, nothing.’’  
‘’Dean, we’ll talk it over, but now I think something’s ringing.’’  
Older Winchester found the right mobile in the stack of those and picked it up.  
‘’Hello?’’ he said hesitantly.  
‘’Thank God,’’ said the vaguely familiar voice, relief evident even despite the distance. ‘’It’s the third phone number I’ve tried and I’ve started to lose hope. Good you still have that phone. I know it’s been a while, but we really need to talk.’’


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're finally getting some insight on how Adam and Michael have been doing and how Sam and Dean will deal with the revelation of Nick's identity. Thank you for all your kudos, comments, subscriptions and bookmarks.

Adam’s Milligan life wasn’t a bed of roses, but if somebody would tell him he’ll be eaten alive by a vengeful ghoul and it’s only the beginning, he would dismiss it as the most crazy thing he ever heard and a lame joke. Once upon a time he was a fairly normal teenager, with fairly normal problems and normal life plans. It wasn’t exactly easy for his mom to raise him, even if he loved her dearly and tried to be good. Still, was just a teenager going through all the stages of growing up. He had to become responsible and self-dependant very early, even though Kate Milligan tried her best to be the devoted mother and Adam always knew he would count on her. One day things just went terribly awry and by now she was gone and he had been dead, in Heaven, alive once more, then in Hell and again topside.  
Adam never got much of a religious upbringing, but he learnt at school about angels and archangels. Mostly about Gabriel, but name of Michael appeared a few times. Adam brushed it aside that time, which he regretted later, when he had a close contact with powerful archangel, closer than he would have ever expected. He tried to compare what he had heard with the real Michael, but his knowledge was understandably limited. It turned out, it didn’t matter anyway. Neither Michael nor Lucifer were how Adam imagined them before.  
He slowly started to get used to the idea of being stuck in Cage forever, with no avail, no chance of being topside. There was no escape, nobody was coming to help him. After some time, he came to the conclusion that Cage with Michael isn’t as bad as it could have been. It might have even been better than normal Hell. At least he wasn’t actively tortured. Suddenly, something happened in the blink and he woke up on the wet grass of cemetery and next to him was lying dark-haired child, looking familiar yet not in the same time. It should have come as shock, but after all he’s been through, it wasn’t as surprising as it might have been for any other person. A few words with a kid and Adam was sure what happened. He had no idea why, but he was no longer in Hell and Viceroy of Heaven was for some reason a boy with wiped out memories.  
Since that moment some time passed and Adam was really growing desperate. He was running out of money and had literally nobody to help him. From a legal point of view, he was dead, which made it rather hard to get a normal job. And there was Michael, who apparently needed a normal caregiver and Adam owned him that. Aside from normal decency, he simply liked Michael. They had no choice but to bond a bit during all this time they got stuck in the Cage, so he couldn’t imagine leaving a helpless kid alone. Especially considering that archangel did his best to shield him form the worst horrors of the Cage and Hell. It still was no picnic, but thanks to Michael he was still relatively sane. Adam must have been honest with himself. He was tired and didn’t have many possibilities. He took into account that he and Michael might be in danger from something supernatural and he didn’t have a slightest idea how to protect both of them. He didn’t know when Michael will grow up and get back his grace and memories or even if it would even happen. Heavenly Prince was basically an average human child and even though Adam quite liked kids (he even seriously considered becoming a paediatrician, back in the days, in his past life), he didn’t sign up for twenty four on seven care.  
Michael’s human form was roughly seven years old and asked many questions, which Adam tried to answer patiently, even though it was hard, since he didn’t know most of the answers himself. At least Michael was rather communicative and perceptive, which made it easier for Adam to explain him that they apparently got stuck together. The boy seemed to have lost his memories, but his overall feeling remained intact. He made it pretty clear when he looked at exasperated blond with comprehension and said:  
‘’It’s fine, Adam. I trust you. We’re going to be all right.’’  
It made Adam almost ashamed. After all, he was supposed to be the one to comfort his fledgling. Michael might have been one of the oldest creations in the Universe, but temporarily Adam was an adult one. Without much hope, he found old John Winchester phone numbers. Two of them didn’t work, at the third time somebody picked up. The interlocutor only said one word, but Adam knew it was Dean (his brother, no matter how strange this idea was) and the relief flooded over him.  
‘’Who’s that?’’ asked Dean on the other side. ‘’Adam?’’ he ventured to try, disbelieving his own ears. On the other hand, this wasn’t the strangest thing that happened to him that day and this one even added up with the others.  
‘’Yeah, that’s me. Surprise,’’ answered the youngest brother. ‘’I’m no longer in Hell, no thanks to you, but never mind.‘’  
‘’Listen, Adam, I know we’ve got no good explanation,’’ started Dean.  
‘’Not now,’’ interrupted Adam. ‘’Listen, it’s not easy of me either, but for a second I’ll forget about you leaving me in Cage, because I’d really use a hand. Can we talk, like, in person?’’  
‘’Of course. Where are you, exactly? I’ll come for you,’’ offered Dean.  
‘’Just give me your address,’’ answered Adam. ‘’I’ll manage.’’  
‘’Adam, don’t be mad. Let us help you.’’  
‘’That’s my plan, but now just give me a fucking address,’’ snapped the youngest Winchester and sighed. ‘’Listen, it’s not that I’m mad at you two, okay, maybe I am a bit, but I’m just tired of all this. shit,’’ he added a bit more calmly.  
‘’Is this about Michael?’’ inquired Dean.  
‘’So you already knew?’’ asked startled Adam.  
‘‘No, not really. Let’s say things got crazy on our side us too. We’ve just found out a few hours ago. Is Michael a kid as well?’’  
‘’As well?’’ inquired youngest Winchester. ‘’Okay, it might even have sense…Just tell me where you are.’’  
Dean finally complied. Adam scribbled the instructions and hung up before Dean could have asked more questions. Resigned, the older hunter turned out to his second brother who looked at him curiously.  
‘’Did I hear you saying ‘Adam’ and ‘Michael’?’’ wanted to know Sam. ‘’Like Adam, our brother and ‘Michael’ the archangel?’’  
‘’Yeah, this was Adam,’’ confirmed Dean. ‘’I guess this is not a surprise he’s out as well?’’  
‘’The hell?’’ mused Sam, involuntarily making a pun. ‘’Crowley let them all on good behaviour or what? I guess he’s not exactly happy about us leaving him in Cage?’’  
‘’Not really, but he still wants to talk to us. It’s looks like we’ll have a family reunion. He didn’t want to tell much on the phone, but I think Michael is in the similar state like Lucifer.’’  
‘’Two tiny archangels? Why does this still surprise me?’’  
‘’Because you’ve got the closed mind. Anyway, about what you said earlier about Lucifer before Adam called…’’  
‘’It’s worth a shot, Dean. Look, so far Nick…Lucifer,’’ corrected himself hunter. ‘’Has been nothing, but a ray of sunshine.’’  
‘’A Morning Star,’’ muttered Dean.  
‘’Exactly. It leads us to a conclusion, that maybe if someone will raise him right this time, he will be better when regain his memories.’’  
‘’It’s eons of hatred towards a few months of being lo-…being taken care of.’’  
‘’You can say being loved, Dean, I know how you felt about Nick, because I felt the same. Lucifer had spent millions of years blaming humans for his predicament. If we show him that humans aren’t actually bad, it can work.’’  
Dean considered this proposal for a while.  
‘’If there is even a shade of chance, we have to try it. Let’s do it, Sam. For Nick.’’  
‘’For Nick,’’ agreed his brother.  
‘’Talking of, he’s still in front of TV. It’s unhealthy for kid this age,’’ said Dean, slipping back into his big brother mode.  
‘’There you go, Dean. Back on the track,’’ answered Sam, smiling softly.  
Nick didn’t make any problems with switch the TV off, even seeming to be glad Winchesters finally showed him more interests. Dean glanced hesitantly and Sam and announced.  
‘’Nick, this guy you met today, he knows something about your family. You’re staying with us, but we need to tell that that your real name is Lucifer.’’  
‘’Lucifer,’’ said the boy. ‘’It’s funny. Long. But okay.’’  
‘’I guess it will be Lucifer from now on,’’ said Sam nervously. ‘’Maybe we can shorten it. Luce. Luci?’’  
‘’Luce sounds better,’’ replied the boy somewhat authoritatively. ’’Good you’re finally here. I draw you a picture earlier.’’  
He handed Dean the sheet of paper. On the top of the it were written few words in sloppy, childlike handwriting, saying ‘’My family.’’  
Dean decided he’s got enough of emotional rollercoaster for one day.  
‘’This is you,’’ explained to him Lucifer, pointing the person in plaid shirt. ‘’This big guy is Sam, this is me and this is Impala.’’  
‘’That’s my boy,’’ praised Dean, almost paternal pride filling him. It looked like living with literal Devil had the chance to succeed.


	5. Chapter 5

The atmosphere in the bunker was still slightly tense the next day, but the initial shock wore off, making it easier for Winchesters to act more sensibly. Once they made a plan to raise Lucifer right, they vowed to do it the best they could or die trying. It was very Winchester way of thinking, but Sam and Dean never did anything half-heartedly.  
Adam was a different type. Time spent is the Cage made him calmer, more accepting and willing to compromise. Yet, the moment he found himself topside once more and laid his eyes on powerless Michael, he swore to himself he would do everything in his might to look after him. Comparing with what he already endured in his whirlwind life, meeting with his estranged brothers didn’t sound as bad. At least it was what he repeated himself standing outside the bunker, holding Michael’s hand.  
‘’Sam. Dean. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m actually happy to see you two,’’ he finally managed to say surprisingly steadily after Sam ushered him inside. ‘’This is actually a cool place,’’ he added, looking round. It was really satisfying to see them more nervous than he was. ‘’Mike, these are my brothers I’ve told you about earlier,’’ he introduced the Winchesters to the archangel. ‘’This big one is Dean, the even bigger is Sam.’’  
‘’Hello,’’ said Michael with perfect diction even though it was clear he was pretty overwhelmed.   
‘’Please tell me there are no more kid archangels walking around this country,’’ muttered Sam.  
‘’They can kill a man with cumulated cuteness,’’ shrugged Dean. ‘’Failproof weapon.’’  
‘’Sam, Dean, he can hear it all,’’ scolded them Adam.   
‘’Sorry, Ads,’’ apologized Dean, who still couldn’t take his eyes of the kid. ‘’Mike, I guess you must have been lonely,’’ he tried crouching so that he could look a child in the eyes.  
‘’I’ve had Adam,’’ answered the boy warily.  
‘’Did you have any playmates?’’ asked the oldest Winchester.  
‘’No, sir,’’ replied Michael.  
‘’Just Dean,’’ corrected the hunter and looked at Adam. ‘’Please tell me you don’t demand to call you sir.’’  
Adam smiled teasingly.  
‘’Not from Michael, but if you two want this, you are free to title me all the way you want it.’’  
‘’I’ll pass,’’ replied Dean, turning back to archangel. ‘’But you didn’t have any playmates, did you?’’  
Mike shook his head no.  
‘’Than, I have great news for you,’’ announced Dean. ‘’With got a boy a bit younger than you living with us in here. His name is Lucifer, but we’ve just found out about it yesterday. We’ve been calling him Nick, so he might not be fully comfortable with his real name yet.’’  
‘’Okay,’’ agreed Michael. ‘’Can I play with him?’’  
‘’Sure. You might even be his older brother is you want,’’ Dean’s voice wavered almost unnoticeably saying these words.   
‘’Cool,’’ cheered the boy, only to frown a second later. ‘’Aren’t you Adam’s older brother?’’  
‘’Yes, I am,’’ answered Dean quickly, blinking.   
‘’And Sam is too?’’ inquired the boy, shifting his gaze at middle Winchester. Adam observed this scene leaned back on the table, his blue eyes shining mischievously. Sam flinched nervously and nodded.  
‘’If you’re brothers, why Adam didn’t tell me about you until yesterday?’’ Michael was insistent to get the answer out of Winchesters. The hunters wanted to say something, Dean opened his mouth only to close it a second later and Sam shot a panicked glance at Adam, who finally took pity on them and decided that Michael shouldn’t be dragged into Winchester-Milligan drama.   
‘’Michael, sometimes happens things that are nobody’s fault and people drift apart. I didn’t have much chances to spend time with these two. Maybe with you and Lucifer it will be different?’’ he suggested, trying to distract the boy from asking difficult questions. Whatever he and his half-brothers have to say to each other, needn’t to be heard by fairly innocent seven-year-old.  
‘’Why isn’t Lucifer here?’’ asked Michael to great relief of every adult in the room.  
‘’I’ll go get him,’’ offered Sam. ‘’I’m sure he’ll be happy.’’  
‘’Sure,’’ muttered Adam to himself. ‘’Last time they saw each other they weren’t exactly the epitome of good siblings relationship. I assume Lucifer doesn’t remember as well?’’ he whispered, leaning to Dean.   
‘’We wouldn’t have risked otherwise,’’ assured his older brother.  
Few minutes later Sam came back with Lucifer clinging to his arm.  
‘’It’s alright,’’ tried to console him the middle Winchester. ‘’Mike is lonely too. You’ll have much fun?’’  
‘’You promise?’’ inquired unconvinced Luce.  
‘’I do,’’ answered Sam, hoping that Chuck would listen to his prayer.  
‘’Okay,’’ sighed reassured Nick and let Sam’s hand go.   
At first Michael looked a bit timid as well, but after few words between him and Lucifer were exchanged both of them visibly relaxed.  
‘’Luce, why don’t you take Mike to your room and show him your toys?’’ suggested Dean. Both boys agreed enthusiastically on this proposal and run off to play.  
‘’It’s going to be loud in there right now,’’ said Sam. ‘’But it’s quite a relief they didn’t start a second Apocalypse on the spot.’’  
‘’Maybe they’re waiting till they’re alone,’’ answered Adam, ghost on the smile on his lips. ‘’So, what’s exactly going on on your side?’’  
Sam and Dean summarised all that happened since they took Lucifer in and in return the youngest brother told them briefly about how he and Michael had been faring so far.   
‘’We’ve got facts settled, but there are still some questions to answer.’’  
Adam brushed aside one of his too long sandy blond strands behind his ear.  
‘’So, I guess, that Michael got stuck with me, because, we kinda came to an agreement in Cage and Lucifer was wandering next to the bunker, looking out for Sam?’’ he asked.  
‘’Not exactly looking out,’’ explained Sam. ‘’But it’s close enough. Makes sense. They were aiming for their last vessels.’’  
‘’I need to mourn my normal life,’’ Adam rolled his eyes. ‘’At least I’m not the only one with deaged archangel in tow.’’  
‘’Adam, I’m sorry, but I need to now,’’ started Sam tensely. ‘’But I need to know. Did Lucifer…Did he torture you after I got pulled out of the Cage?’’  
‘’Nah, he didn’t seem to be interested in me. It was only you he cared for, you must be special.’’  
Sam flinched at these words.  
‘’And even if he wanted, Michael protected me,’’ added Adam.  
‘’I think Chuck knew perfectly what’s going on, but he lied to us,’’ Dean spoke suddenly up.  
‘’I agree this is too much unclear for my liking, but why would he lie?’’ asked middle Winchester. ‘’He’s a God.’’  
‘’I’ve learnt my lesson about trust with Zachariah and I’m not making the same mistake again,’’ said Adam glumly. ‘’Better to be safe than sorry. Anyway, we’re stuck with these two whether we like it or no. I don’t personally mind.’’  
‘’If you ask me Chuck wanted us to take care of these two. But why?’’ inquired Dean.  
‘’Who know?’’ shrugged Sam. ‘’Maybe he wanted his boys to have a better childhood this time.’’  
‘’Sappy,’’ commented Adam. ‘’I wasn’t ready for a child.’’  
‘’Adam, what you are exactly planning to do now?’’ asked Sam in the way youngest Winchester couldn’t tell was guilt or concern. Maybe both.  
‘’I don’t know,’’ he admitted. ‘’Being legally dead doesn’t make things easier. Can you make me a fake ID or something? I hoped that you would know why Mike is like that and you did. Thank God, wait, thank Chuck for small miracles.’’  
‘’Adam, you’re perfectly welcome to stay here,’’ offered Sam. ‘’It’s better to stick together. We don’t know what’s going to happen next and here at least we’ve got equipment to disarm our archangels in case something goes awry.’’  
‘’I’m not letting you harm Michael,’’ answered Adam in such a voice it was obvious his going to fight for the archangel.  
‘’We’re not intending to,’’ promised Dean. ‘’Not until he…’’  
‘’He’s the good guy,’’ reminded Adam, before his brother could have finished the sentence. ‘’He has been more a support for me than you two have ever been. I didn’t want to dwell on it with Mike here, since he’s basically a normal kid and didn’t need to hear all this, but these are the facts.’’  
‘’Adam, we’re sorry,’’ said Sam, making his signature puppy eyes. ‘’We know this doesn’t fix anything and we should have fought harder to get you out of this Hell, but we’re happy that you’re okay despite the circumstances.’’  
‘’Ads, give us a second chance,’’ pleaded Dean. ‘’Stay with us. We didn’t have much time to be brothers and I understand that we’re virtual strangers to you, but I couldn’t look myself in the eyes if I wouldn’t try to make things better. You have full right to be mad at us, but at least stay. You and Michael are safe in here. This place is warded like crazy.’’  
‘’Okay,’’ Adam’s features softened. ‘’It’s not like anywhere or anyone else to go to and it’s not like I can count on Michael right now,’’ he gestured to archangel’s general direction. ‘’I guess it’s been hard for all of us and I’m willing to start anew with you. Since Mike and Lucifer aren’t jumping on each other’s throat, they may benefit from staying together. But don’t expect me to be all brotherly and throw myself into your arms crying with joy,’’ he added, narrowing his eyes.   
‘’Good enough for the start,’’ agreed Sam.  
‘’I guess you’ve got some place I can unpack?’’ asked Adam, picking the backpack from the ground. ‘’Don’t worry, Michael and I don’t have a lot.’’  
‘’Pick a room for yourself,’’ offered Dean. ‘’You want one next to Michael?’’  
‘’Would be nice.’’  
‘’We should put Michael in the room next to Lucifer,’’ mused Sam. ‘’It’s a blessing to finally have ample of space for everyone.’’  
‘’Good point,’’ agreed the youngest Winchester.  
‘’Welcome to the bunker, than,’’ cheered Dean. ‘’Finally we have enough pair of hands to deal with this mess.’’  
If look could kill, hunter would lay dead on the floor after the murderous glare Adam sent him.  
‘’He’s kidding, Ads,’’ hurried to explain Sam. ‘’Good to have you anyway. You must be tired. Help yourself and I’ll check on our kids.’’  
Adam closed his eyes, relieved. For the first time in weeks he wasn’t alone with his problems.


	6. Chapter 6

Saying that Michael and Lucifer were living in absolute peace was far from real, but generally they got along quite nicely. Mike had grown to be protective of his younger brother, even though he had no idea who Luce really was and Lucifer showed him undying loyalty in return. The archangels might have been serene children beforehand, but when they get to know each other a little better, it took them no time to start behaving in more mischievous way, which amused Dean immensely and made Sam slightly panicked. Adam tried not to intervene unless the situation was getting too dangerous, which wasn’t too often.  
Things went fairly smoothly with Michael and Lucifer, but the same couldn’t be told about the Winchesters. Sam had to admit having Adam around was strangely comforting, maybe because he was a lot like Dean in many ways. Maybe some things really run in the families, regardless of the way of upbringing. Neither Dean or Adam were the most forthcoming types and at the beginning they had kept their distance. In the beginning Adam resolved mostly to himself, afraid that if he trusts his brother they’ll fail him again. With time, he slowly kept realising that Sam’s and Dean’s intentions are true and their relationship gradually shifted form ones more reminding these between flatmates to more brotherly ones. Anyway, raising two kids brought them closer whether they liked it or no. There was no place or time to squabble when the fate of the Universe was on stake.  
One evening Dean and Adam sat in the kitchen, drinking the beer and eating hamburgers, while Sam played with Lucifer and Michael in the adjacent room.  
‘’You think we’re doing a good job with our archangels?’’ asked the younger brother.  
‘’I hope so,’’ answered Dean. ‘’I just want to believe we’re really making a difference and when they’ll be on full juice again, these days will make them rethink some matters.’’  
‘’I would be sorely disappointed if things were the other way,’’ winced Adam. ‘’I’m investing my time and effort into these two. I don’t believe you just adopted the stray angel.’’  
‘’You’ve got Michael,’’ pointed out Dean.  
‘’It was a packaged deal. I knew who he is and you just picked up a child. You’re not a bad guy, Dean. A good brother…Maybe if the things were different…Never mind. How did you learnt all this? It’s not like we’ve got a great role model.’’  
‘’That’s probably why. I had to take care of Sammy and myself.’’   
‘’I wish you were there when I grew up,’’ confessed Adam.  
‘’I wish I was there for you too,’’ replied Dean. ‘’Adam, if I knew sooner about you…,’’  
‘’Stop apologizing, it’s not your fault.’’  
After this statement a trenchcoated, winged man materialised in the kitchen, making Adam flinch.  
‘’You’ll get used to it,’’ assured his brother.  
‘’Hi,’’ said Castiel, as if he didn’t leave Winchesters for weeks without a word.  
‘’About bloody time, Cas,’’ snorted Dean. ‘’Where have you been, man?’’  
‘’I’m sorry, Dean, but I’m not a man. I’m an angel,’’ answered confused Castiel.  
‘’Whatever’’, Dean sighed, slightly annoyed. ‘’You’ve missed quite a lot. It’s high time you met your brothers. Sam, get the kids here,’’ he called.  
‘’Kids?’’ asked even more confused angel. ‘’And is that Adam?’’  
‘’Nice to see you too,’’ scowled the youngest Winchester. ‘’Maybe you would have known earlier if you cared.’’  
‘’I was busy,’’ tried to excuse himself Cas.  
‘’Trust us, we were too,’’ answered Sam walking into the room with two archangels. ‘’This is Castiel, boys,’’ he said looking at Luce and Mike. ‘’He’s your, well, family. A brother, I guess.’’  
Kid archangels in a beat run to Castiel, asking him questions and demanding to play with them. Lucifer was hanging on the bigger angel’s trenchcoat, while his dark-haired brother resorted to less invasive methods, but Castiel seemed lost anyway.  
‘’This is quite a family get together, I have to say,’’ muttered Adam sarcastically, eyeing puzzled Cas. ‘’So, if they’re your brothers, you should be the one taking care of them. But first, I need to make sure you’re suitable for that. I can’t leave my Mike with somebody I don’t trust.’’  
‘’Mike?” inquired bewildered angel?  
‘’Short form of Michael,’’ explained Adam, like it was the most obvious thing in the word. ‘’At first I was calling him by him full name, but people were looking funny at as, so I shortened it. You know, I really didn’t want to attract much attention than I already did. It’s not like I’m his legal guardian after all.’’  
‘’In the eyes of Chuck you are,’’ said Dean.  
‘’Yeah, good luck telling that to the Police,’’ snorted Adam.   
‘’Sam, Dean, are these two really Michael and Lucifer?’’ inquired horrified Castiel.  
‘’In the flesh, Cas,’’ assured slightly amused older hunter. ‘’Don’t worry, they’re harmless. Mostly.’’  
‘’Say hello to all the children activities,’’ said ruthlessly Sam.  
‘’Feeding them pizza, building cities from toys and watching cartoons,’’ added Adam, smirking.  
‘’Be nice to them, or I’ll know,’’ spoke up Dean. ‘’Whose turn it was to tell them bedtime stories?’’  
‘’Mine,’’ admitted Adam.  
‘’Great. It’s your lucky day, because Cas will do it for you.’’  
‘’You can’t expect me to coddle this two monsters,’’ exclaimed Castiel.  
Three Winchesters shot him a murderous glance, Michael frowned and Lucifer asked in a heartbroken voice:  
‘’Why did you call us monsters? I thought we were good today.’’  
‘’You were,’’ assured Dean, taking Luce in his arms.   
‘’It’s not nice to call people names,’’ said Michael, walking back to Adam, who laid the hand on his arm protectively.  
‘’Is this because we ate that cookies before dinner?’’ wanted to know Nick. ‘’We said we’re sorry.’’  
‘’Don’t do it again, love, but it’s not about it,’’ answered Sam, narrowing his eyes at Cas. ‘’He had no right to call you like that.’’  
‘’Boys, they’re manipulating you,’’ whispered Castiel in terror.   
Dean sighed and passed Lucifer to Sam.  
‘’Take the boys, okay? I’ll talk to Cas.’’  
Sam and Adam nodded and without another word they took archangels to their respective bedrooms. Luce was fairly easy to console and Sam managed to distract him by changing the subject and a promise of a family trip in the days. Michael was a different matter. Adam had a hard time to explain who is Castiel and why he said the things he did. It almost broke man’s heart when Mike squeezed his hand with his tiny one and kept asking difficult questions. He maneuvered the best he could, without telling the whole truth and prayed that they’ll be grown soon. Little Michael was sweet and Adam loved him dearly, but it was sometimes too overwhelming to handle the whole mess. On the second hand, confronting Prince of Heaven after all this will be weird. After quite a long time, Adam assured Michael is safe and Castiel won’t threaten him the second time, which finally allowed the poor child to rest and the youngest Winchester to come back to Dean and Castiel, who seemed way more apologetic.  
‘’Michael is mostly fine, but it took a while to comfort him. Castiel, you can’t just burst in there and scare the kid,’’ scolded him Adam anyway. “You’ll say something like tonight one more time and I swear, I’ll pluck your feathers.’’  
‘’He means it, Cas,’’ said Dean. ‘’And I mean it, too.’’  
‘’Boys, I’m sorry. I didn’t know. Now I can see it’s complicated.’’  
‘’You know, it’s not easy for any of us’’, frowned Adam.  
‘’Dean filled me in. I’ll be good,’’ promised the angel.  
‘’I hope so,’’ growled Dean. ‘’I know you don’t like them, but they’re your family. It’s worth an effort.’’


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Every thing comes to an end and here we face the end of this story. It was intended to be short, in the same time being the longest fic I've ever written in my non-native language, so I view it as a challenge and my personal success. Now I'm planning to write about less fluffy topics, but if you liked this one, feel free to check my other works. Thank you one more for all the tokens of appreciation and I hope it's not goodbye, but see you later.

Life in Milligan-Winchester household passed in more a less steady rhythm. Castiel slowly managed to get used to the idea that his two oldest brothers, he remembered as formidable warriors are running around as two adorable bundles of energy. Sometimes, in the evenings Lucifer fell asleep on Michael, which looked unbelievably cute. They sometimes fought about some minor thigs only to cuddle with each other a moment later. It blew angel’s mind.  
‘’It’s perfectly normal when it comes to human siblings. They do love each other,’’ kept convincing him Dean. ‘’They just need to rediscover it.’’  
For a couple of times Winchesters had an impression that their archangels remember something, but after a few minutes boys behaved again like normal kids. Winchesters were hunters for too long to ignore such a clues. The day archangels were to regain their former power was knocking at the door.  
First one to turn back to full-powered archangel was Michael. Dean walked on him, heavy-eyed and sleep-mussed one morning, when he wanted to make himself some coffee and was convinced all the other residents were asleep. Michael was wearing young John Winchester vessel, which was strange, but when you’re a Winchester strange is the new normal. Despite expecting this moment, Dean found himself speechless for a second.  
‘’Hi, Dean,’’ greeted him Michael calmly. ‘’Isn’t it a beautiful morning? Thanks to your combined efforts I can now fully appreciate it.’’  
‘’It happened,’’ gasped Dean. ‘’Are you, like, you know, fully yourself?’’  
‘’I need a few more days to stabilize. Thank you for your concern. I’m proud you’re my chosen vessel.’’  
It reminded the hunter about one more thing.  
‘’Is Lucifer like that as well? All grown up?’’  
‘’He’s still a child. For some reason in his case the process takes longer. Don’t worry, it’s a matter of days. Thank you for reminding us we’re brothers,’’ said Michael casually.  
‘’You remember everything?’’ inquired Dean.  
‘’Right from the start.’’  
‘’I assume you and Luce aren’t going to cause another apocalypse?’’  
Something resembling a smile flickered through Michael’s serious face.  
‘’Not a chance. Today, I know better than that.’’  
‘’Dean?’’ asked another sleepy voice, whose owner stumbled into the room. ‘’Who are you talking to?’’ Adam’s eyes widened. ‘’Michael?’’  
For a second former pre-med student forgot about his dignified posture and run to hug an archangel.  
‘’Adam. You took care of me. I thank you for that,’’ said Michael.  
‘’You took care of me first. In the Cage,’’ answered Adam, almost choking on tears. When did he become so sentimental? This kids grow up so fast these days.  
‘’It was because of me you landed in Cage in the first place. I owned you this. You owned me nothing.’’  
‘’It would be largely unfair to leave you. Besides, I would have missed you,’’ confessed Adam. Michael was bad at showing it, but he was moved as well.  
For some reason Lucifer didn’t have a slightest problem with recognizing his brother.  
‘’Mike? Why are you so big?’’ he asked, perking his head to look Michael in the eye.   
‘’You’ll be like that too in a few days,’’ explained Viceroy of Heaven, lifting the boy. ‘’Let’s put together a puzzle, won’t we?’’  
‘’Okay, that wasn’t what I’ve expected,’’ admitted Sam, when the archangels disappeared from the earshot. ‘’Does it mean we succeeded?’’  
‘’We need to wait until Luce is grown up,’’ noticed reasonably Adam.   
‘’Our life is a mess. We’ve got a nickname for a Devil.’’  
‘’Michael is our potential ally. That’s half of the success,’’ assumed Castiel. ‘’He’s not that bad after you reraised him.’’  
‘’Not that bad?’’ frowned Adam. ‘’He’s the best angel in all the Heavenly flock, halo.’’  
‘’Oh, please, don’t argue,’’ pleaded Sam. ‘’We just need to wait. I doubt there is much more time left. We did everything we could have and now it’s time to face the results.’’  
‘’Doubtless of that, I’m going to miss this two ruffians,’’ admitted Dean. ‘’What’s now? Are we going back to hunting?’’  
‘’Easy, Dean,’’ said Sam. ‘’We don’t know if there will be even any hunting to come back to if Lucifer goes on killing rampage.’’   
‘’I can’t believe I’m the one to say this, but have some faith, Sam,’’ spoke up Adam.  
‘’You’re the one who were locked with them. Do they have a chance?’’ asked Dean.  
‘’Sometimes, in the Cage, they took a break from constant fight,’’ replied the youngest brother. ‘’Sometimes they tried to talk, but it ended up in endless accusations and their started fighting again. Now they had time to reconcile. There’s always a chance. Mike is halfway a success. If Luce won’t screw this up…’’  
Lucifer didn’t screw this up. He appeared one morning, just like his older brother a few days before, with shit eating grin on his face, looking just like a man called Nick, who he wore before Sam.   
‘’I’m back, babies!’’ he exclaimed.  
‘’You’ve been there the whole time,’’ noticed Sam.  
‘’Figures. The point is, I’m back in my awesome self. Before you say anything, I’ve already talked to Mike and we decided the let bygones be bygones and I hope it also applies to the thigs that happened between you and me.’’  
‘’It means you won’t do anything funny?’’ asked Dean, disbelieving it went so easy.  
‘’It depends how you understand funny,’’ answered Luce in a beat.  
‘’Lucifer,’’ growled Sam.  
‘’Okay, okay, I promise.’’  
‘’Well, that’s a relief,’’ sighed Adam.   
‘’That calls for a celebration,’’ proposed Lucifer.  
‘’Chuck help me, but I agree with Luce,’’ said Dean. ‘’I would kill for a drink.’’  
‘’That was not nice,’’ winced Lucifer. ‘’If I remember correctly, you told me repeatedly that it’s good to be nice to others.’’  
‘’You can’t use our own words against us,’’ groaned Dean.  
‘’I can’t?’’ asked Luce with raised eyebrows. ‘’Who would forbid me?’’  
‘’You know, Nick,’’ Adam accented the name. ‘’I have more blackmail material. I did photos.’’  
‘’You wouldn’t dare,’’ Lucifer’s eyes widened.  
‘’Try me,’’ replied offhandedly the youngest Winchester.  
‘’Don’t try him,’’ suggested Michael, who had just materialized. ‘’Two can play this game and he’s too good at it to risk. Consider it, little brother, before you wage a war on my vessel.’’  
‘’Adam,’’ Dean closed his eyes in exasperation. ‘’Be civil.’’  
‘’Me?’’ asked outraged blond. ‘’He started it. Michael, don’t laugh.’’  
‘’So, a party tonight?’’ asked Sam, trying to change the subject.  
Everybody reacted more or less enthusiastically to this proposal, but Sam himself felt a knot forming in the stomach. So far, everybody was there and now, it was sure to end. Residents of the bunker would part ways, leaving all this huge building too big for him and Dean only, maybe also Cas. He should have known it was only a temporary arrangement, but he had grown really fond of the company of Adam and archangels, but he didn’t think about it until that moment. When it came to family business things were never steady. Sam wondered for a while what John Winchester would have said, seeing them like that, on friendly terms with three archangels, two of whom were Viceroy of Heaven and Devil himself. Surely he would have been furious and disappointed, both with Sam and Dean, whom he had drilled that mixing with supernatural is dangerous and forbidden and probably with Adam as well, because his efforts to protect his youngest son from this life turned out pointless. At least Ads didn’t seem to mind consorting with archangels. In fact, the bond he and Michael had with each other was rather sweet, even if Sam knew that if he ever admits it aloud Adam would murder him in his sleep. Still, he hoped that archangels would remain their allies or at least on the good terms with each other. Sam didn’t regret a single second spent with them. Who would have thought that day will come.  
In the evening they all gathered by the table. It felt like the end of something, but there was also an air of expectation and hope, a new beginning. Time for new challenges, new possibilities.   
‘’Not trying to be formal, but somebody should say something,’’ suggested Adam.  
‘’I might start,’’ volunteered Sam. ‘’I can’t believe it, but we finally did it, guys. I know it’s been a rocky road. When Chuck told me Nick is in fact Lucifer, I was livid and hurt. Livid for obvious reasons, hurt because I thought I will never have a real family. Now I know, I already do,’’ he announced.  
This statement was followed by group aawh. Even usually stoic Michael looked a bit touched.  
‘’No chick-flick moments,’’ mumbled Dean. ‘’But, Sammy, it’s beautifully said.’’   
‘’It was,’’ agreed Lucifer. ‘’Do you really consider me a family?’’  
‘’You left us no choice, don’t you?’’ asked Sam.  
‘’No,’’ shook his head fallen archangel.  
‘’We do. Sorry, Luce, we’ve learnt to care about you. Mike, you as well, in case you’re wondering. These were good months, boys. What are you planning to do next?’’  
Castiel was the first to speak.  
‘’I think I’d go back to the case of demon tablets. You’ve missed quite a lot recently.’’  
‘’Worth it,’’ said Dean. ‘’Don’t worry, we’ll be back on the road soon. I hope we didn’t get out of practice.’’  
‘’Why it doesn’t surprise me?’’ mused Luce. ‘’Winchesters always back in the game. No matter how many times you tried to quit, you keep failing desperately. I think you simply like it guys, no matter what you say.’’  
‘’This makes me believe maybe I’m really a Winchester,’’ spoke up Adam. ‘’I’ve really got a Winchester luck.’’  
‘’You finally admitted it,’’ smiled Dean. ‘’Out littlest Winchester.’’  
‘’Don’t take it too far, Dean,’’ scoffed Adam. ‘’Half-Winchester is good compromise. I guess this is who I am these days. Both Milligan and Winchester.’’  
‘’This is what makes you unique,’’ said Sam. ‘’At least you don’t wallow in constant guilty conscience and co-dependence.’’  
‘’I’m afraid I’m getting close to that,’’ winced the youngest brother.  
‘’What are you planning to do now? Are you going back to the college?’’  
‘’I don’t know,’’ sighed Adam. ‘’I’m not the same type of guy I’ve used to be.’’  
‘’Whoa, it’s exactly what Sammy said one, when I asked him if he thinks about getting back to university,’’ answered Dean.  
‘’You can’t drag people into this lifestyle and expect them to come back to normal life as if nothing happened. Anyway, I need a bit more time to rethink all this. Besides, it was rather nice to have domesticity. In fact, we’ve already established earlier today something with Mike and Luce. Tell them.’’  
‘’I was in Heaven today, to see how they’re faring and there was nothing alarming. I no longer desire to rule it and they don’t need me anymore. If anything changes, they’ll let me know,’’ said Michael. ‘’Dad doesn’t respond to our prayers. It looks like he left once more. I think His point was from the beginning bringing us all together. He did it, disappeared and there’s nothing we can do about it.’’  
‘’It’s unorthodox,’’ said Sam. ‘’But very Chuck-like.’’  
‘’We’ve decided that if you’re not kicking us out, we’re going to stick with you for a while longer,’’ announced proudly former Devil.  
‘’Well, it’s customary for kids to move out when they grew up,’’ mused Dean. ‘’I’m kidding, guys. You may stay how long you want.’’  
‘’Oh, Dean-o, imagine our family hunting, all five of us. Nobody would stand a chance,’’ Lucifer clapped his hands with so much enthusiasm that Sam groaned internally. He should have really be more careful about what he wished for, because he had just gotten it. One thing was sure. Whatever was to going to happen, they’re going to have each other’s back.


End file.
